


We Can't Change Who We've Been

by Kanexan



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Dark Humor, Death, Frisk and Chara are Not Good People, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Lots and Lots of Death, Male Chara, Male Frisk, Maybe Eventual Happy Ending, Narrator Chara, Spoilers, Two Seriously Messed Up Kids, Undertale Genocide Route, Unfortunate Implications, Violence, some language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-27
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-04-29 20:46:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14480874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kanexan/pseuds/Kanexan
Summary: An angry child, covered in dust. A voice in his ear, guiding his hand. Together, they've dealt with everything and everyone who stood in their way. And now, in front of them is the judge. The weakest monster. This shouldn't take too long... right?





	1. Opening Statement.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my second fanfic, and my first non-joking public piece of writing. If you have any feedback or criticisms, I would greatly appreciate it if you would tell me them in the comments below so I can improve my writing for next time. I'll do my best to get back to you!
> 
> I make no promises about when updates will happen, but I will try to make them happen.

**Death 1**  

* * *

As Frisk entered the hall, he was almost stunned by the sudden burst of glorious yellow light. It was a complete contrast to the city, which had been drab, empty, and ultimately forgettable. There hadn't even been any decent FIGHTS, just that flower and its story. Frisk wished Chara had let him cut the first one short, and spare them both those tedious monologues. Like he cared about what the plant had gone through. Even if it had once been someone worthwhile, now it wasn't even a someone, just a plant with anger issues.

" _Wow, that's pretty harsh. You hate Flowey that much? So far, he's been pretty useful._ " Well, there was Chara's take on the subject, in his usual faint voice. It was so  _weird_ having another person in his head. Especially one who was so different than Frisk was, in pretty much every way. Unlike Frisk, Chara had paid lots of attention to what the flower said; after all, most of it had been about him, hadn't it?

"Says the person who wasn't almost killed by that plant!" Frisk said. "Heck, this whole time it's thought I was _you!_ If it knew better, do you really think Flowey would have been so helpful to us?"

Chara was quiet for a little bit. Then, softly, _"I do wish you would stop calling him 'it'. He... he did mean something to me, once."_

"Fine." Frisk decided to just drop the subject. He'd had these sorts of talks with Chara before, although most of the time it was _Frisk_ chiding _Chara's_ harsh language, and Chara won most of them anyway. He had a way of saying things that just made whatever he said make sense, even if Frisk hadn't agreed at first. It was faster to just concede for now and not have the argument in the first place. Plus, that meant Frisk didn't have to accept that Chara was right.

There was a SAVE point right in the entrance to the hall, which was going to be pretty handy if the King killed Frisk once or twice. That way, he wouldn't have to hear Flowey's sob story over and over again as he made his way here from the Home. Frisk started down the corridor, staring at the beautiful architecture. The ceiling was arches supported by tall columns, with gold patterns and intricately-chiseled carvings running through the gray stone. Of course, with the light shining through the stained-glass windows everything in the room looked like it was carved out of solid gold. It made Frisk want to look around the rest of the palace before going to dust the King; if just a hallway was this beautiful, how amazing must the rest of the place be?

No, wait. That was a distraction. Frisk had to get out of here, had to be free of this infuriating place as fast as possible. The monsters with their pitiful FIGHTS and false MERCY and their strange food were just standing in Frisk's way. Standing in _both_ their ways.

And suddenly, there was a Monster standing in their way.

Frisk almost smiled. Chara began to laugh. It was the skeleton! And not even the decent one, either; Chara had dealt with  _him_ all the way back in Snowdin. No, in front of them was the useless "sentry", the lazy bag of puns and empty threats.

_"Five gold says you take him in one hit!"_

Frisk wouldn't take Chara's bet for anything in the world. Sans was easily the weakest monster, even worse than that monster kid back in Waterfall. This was going to be almost _too_ easy.

_"heya. you've been busy, huh?"_

* * *

**Death 2**

* * *

 

_ohgodohgodohGODOHGODOHDEARGOD MAKE IT STOP OH GOD WHAT THE-_

The SOUL shattered.

"Wow. Well then. That... was not a contingency I planned for."

Frisk was back in the void between a death and a load. Besides himself, there wasn't anything around but pitch-black emptiness, save for the two... buttons? Frisk wasn't sure what to call them. One would bring him back to life at his last SAVE, the other...

He wasn't actually sure what the other one did, and he didn't want to find out. Something about a RESET sounded ominous, and Frisk tried to avoid stuff they didn't know.  Dad had been very strict about that, never to do anything Frisk didn't know and wasn't explicitly told to do, to always say what the script said, and to eat anything he was told to eat, no matter what. Frisk... Frisk wasn't there anymore, was miles away in the bottom of a mountain, but habits didn't go away for a long time. He supposed that was why Chara was so helpful; someone was still telling him stuff, but now he could choose what  _he_ wanted, instead of what he was given. Chara had better games, too.

Chara was in the void, too. Frisk could kinda see him normally, or at least had a mental projection of him, but Chara only began to be a relatively clear image in the void. Maybe Frisk was a ghost there too? He wasn't sure, but it was nice to get a clear-ish picture of the person who had been helping him all this way. Frisk didn't think he could have gotten that far without the ghost-boy's instructions. He hadn't been helpful this time, though.

Frisk was actually more than a little stunned, not only that Sans had killed him, but that he'd done it less than fifteen seconds into the FIGHT. The Chara-ghost moved in the inky void, floating gently towards him. "I suppose he wasn't quite so lazy after all. You'll need to be quicker next time." he said. It was easier to hear now that Frisk was in the void.

" _Quicker?_ How on Earth am I supposed to be _quicker?!"_ Frisk snapped. He had never died that fast before. To think that of all the monsters it would be  _SANS_ who killed him fastest was unacceptable. The skeleton wasn't supposed to do that, he was supposed to roll over and dust just like all the others had. Like his stupid brother had.

Chara grinned a little wider. "Well, now you know he isn't a lazy assh-"

"No swears!"

Chara's expression shattered into a dark glower. Then, as if nothing happened, that wide smile was back on his face not five seconds later. "Fair enough. Now that you know he isn't a lazy _bum_ , you'll be prepared for his opening move. You dodge it, you stab him with m-  _your_ knife, and then we move on to the King. Sound clear enough?"

Frisk thought about it for a bit. "Yeah, that sounds like it'll work."

He reached out and pushed the button. He never got used to going from a realm of nothingness to the real world, with its sights and colors and _feels_. It was overwhelming, honestly. After he got past that short period of sensory overload, he started walking back down the hall. It wasn't as pretty this time around; Frisk didn't want to explore the castle anymore.

The skeleton was there again. It was kinda silly to think that he wouldn't be, but Sans wasn't quite like the others. Maybe he would wise up and stop standing in his way eventually, but Frisk doubted it. He walked towards Sans. Sans said something, but Frisk wasn't paying attention: all his concentration had to be on dodging that first attack. If Sans missed, he would be wide open for a quick slash. Dust to be forgotten, like the others were. Nobody could stand in Frisk's way. He was _strong_. The strong guys are the ones who win, that was what Chara said.

Like before, Sans had the opening attack. Frisk did his best to dodge the bones and skull-cannons, but they were just too fast for him. He died before he could even make it to the first turn.

* * *

**Death 3**

* * *

_"Do it again. Faster this time._ _"_

This time, Frisk squeaked through with about a third of his HP, dodging and twisting around the bones and those freakish skull-cannons. He felt _awful_ though, like everything wrong he'd ever done, every time Daddy was mad because Frisk broke something or ate something or wasn't careful with his teeth or said bad words, every monster he'd ki- _dusted_ , like all of those times were dropping on him like cartoon anvils. He almost couldn't stand, it felt so heavy.

 The sentry, no, the _judge_ was before him, with that idiotic smile that was so completely in contrast to everything he was doing. But Frisk knew this blasted FIGHT would soon be over now. It hadn't actually been too bad, not really, just surprising. Sans had better attacks than Undyne, but he only had one HP; the slightest bit of damage from Frisk would be enough to k... dust him.

Frisk swung with all his might, body twisting to put as much speed and force behind the blow as possible. The knife sliced through the air...

"what? you think i'm just gonna sit there and take it?"

A look of utter horror seized Frisk, until his face was wiped away under a barrage of bones.

* * *

  **Death 4**

* * *

Frisk sat again in the inky blackness. He looked at the Chara-figure, who looked every bit as stunned as Frisk was. Frisk spoke first."That's not what they're supposed to _do!_ They just show up, and I hit them, and t-then they call me h-horrible, and then they _dust_!"

"No, don't worry. It'll be fine." Chara said, soothingly. "You'll always win eventually, and they'll always lose, because you're stronger than they are. That's how the world works. That's why Brutus killed Caesar, because Brutus was stronger. That's why Napoleon conquered Europe, because France was stronger. That's why President Johnson will beat the North Vietnamese, because America is stronger. The strong will live, and the weak will die. Some of them just don't realize they're weak yet."

Something about that explanation seemed off to Frisk. "But... weren't you strong? Why did you die?"

"Because, Frisk..." Chara's see-through grin didn't falter, but his voice grew an edge behind it. "I didn't realize how weak I truly was. I still... I still cared. That was always the problem. I should have done _so many things_ differently; I just didn't realize it at the time. There were opportunities I could've grasped, people I could've used, and I didn't do it. Because _'that's the right thing to do.'_ Bullsh-" Seeing Frisk's glare, he quickly changed words. "I mean, crud. But through this journey with you, through all the things we've been and done, I've been able to realize what I did wrong. I want to thank you for that, Frisk. You've really opened my metaphorical eyes to what I could have been."

Frisk understood what Chara was talking about. He, too, felt that there had been something about the journey underground that had changed him. He didn't think the same way he used to, and he definitely didn't act the same way. Frisk liked how he was now better, though; he was stronger, he could choose what he wanted to do for himself. He didn't have to be in Daddy's movies anymore, didn't have to play the games for the camera, didn't have to grit his teeth when-

He didn't want to think about the past anymore. The past was dust. Frisk pressed Continue before Chara could say anything else. Sans couldn't dodge Frisk twice.

* * *

**Death 5**

* * *

As it turns out, Sans could dodge Frisk a whole lot more than twice. Frisk was back in the hall, again. He'd thought it was pretty just... minutes ago? Hours ago? Frisk wasn't sure anymore. But he knew it wasn't pretty now, that it had never been pretty. The hall still _looked_ as pristine as it had the first time he'd entered, but Frisk's mind still had vivid images of the shattered bricks, scorched black by those freaky skull-beams, with blood pooling and flowing through the cracks. This room wasn't a hall, and it wasn't a courtroom either. It was a place of execution.

Frisk's execution, specifically. Would it happen again, this time? Would Frisk die, like the last five times he saw Sans? Chara probably thought it was hilarious, but Frisk wasn't laughing. Death  _hurt._ If he only had died once and was done with it, like Chara had been, it wouldn't have been so bad. Instead, Frisk was forced to keep coming back to this barren hall and fight and die to a comedian who had stopped telling jokes long ago.

With a sigh, he started down the hall again. For the fifth time, the world froze for a second, and there was Sans in front of him.

_"hmm... that expression. that's the expression of someone who's died five times in a row. convenient, huh? that's one for each finger. but soon... you'll need a mutant hand to count all your deaths."_

Frisk didn't say anything. The first attack came and went; once Frisk was used to it, it wasn't so bad after all. He was still a little sloppy, getting nipped by the blaster spiral and losing 5 HP, but came through without any  _major_  injuries. " _They were on your non-dominant hand anyway. Acceptable losses."_

Now... what was Frisk to do? He'd seen the ACT and FIGHT texts, he didn't need any ITEMs, the very concept of MERCY was a bad joke. Frisk decided he might as well take a swing at him. Maybe this time...?

No luck. Sans said his spiel about the 'anomaly', but Frisk had heard this part before.

Next came Sans' turn. 

Dodge.

Dodge.

Jump.

Stop.

Duck.

Frisk should've jumped. He had jumped last time. He was supposed to have been getting  _better_ at this. Unfortunately, the plate-sized hole in his chest where his lungs used to be disagreed.

* * *

**Death 10**

* * *

 

_*Can't keep dodging forever. Keep attacking._

_*Sans's movements grow a little wearier._

Frisk didn't see any difference. That stupid, stupid skeleton with his stupid grin was. still. there. This was not what Frisk had wanted to do. This FIGHT was not fun anymore. Honestly... they hadn't really been any fun since he entered the Core or so; he'd just dusted everybody there because it's what he'd done before. But this one was on a completely different level to  _anything_ Frisk had done before. Frisk had wished for a tough battle before he entered this nasty little hall. Well, he'd gotten one.

He was never, ever going to wish for anything ever again. All it had done so far was get him in trouble. He'd wished he could stop playing the camera games, so he wound up running away onto a stupid _mountain_ where there wasn't anything more interesting or tasty than a pine tree. He'd wished he never had to go back home, and he fell into a hole full of monsters trying to kill him. He'd wished the monsters would stop being so hard to ~~kill~~ dust, and they had all been pushovers after Undyne. 

Now, the only thing he wanted was to see Sans a pile of dust in front of him, so he could move on and finish the job he started.

This was his best run yet. He'd gone through four of Sans's attacks so far, had three-fourths of his health bar still, and wasn't low on items- yet. If he could get through this next attack, he'd eat a Glamburger, bring it up to full, and keep on dodging. He'd FIGHT on the turn after.

Sans began his attack. Frisk jumped from platform to platform, over a pit of bones. This... this one wasn't so bad, actually. He jumped off the last platform, when only seconds later a wall of  _massive_ bones swept by just over his head; if he'd been even the slightest bit later it could've halved his health. As it was, the Glamburger was enough to get him back to full, sticky and glittery and just generally kinda weird-tasting as it was.

That turn was wasted, but the next one would be progress. As he finished off the last bit of the sequin-studded bun, Frisk paused a bit, and wondered if Chara could taste the burger. Did he taste the pie back in the Undyne fight, or the candy back in the Ruins?

Unfortunately, these thoughts delayed him slightly. Not very long, but enough to be caught off-guard by the attack.

As he looked down at the bones piercing his torso, Frisk wondered if Chara could taste the blood filling his mouth.

* * *

**Death 20**

* * *

_*Sans's movements seem to be slower._

This was the farthest Frisk had ever gotten. Twenty deaths already. Nine attacks in. Five items left. No hits yet.

He had never, ever wanted anything as much as he wanted to dust Sans. No... that wasn't right. He wanted to  _kill_ Sans. 'Dusting' did not do justice to the complete and utter hatred he felt for the skeleton. All the anger Frisk had, whether at himself or his life or his so-called father, was focused entirely on his desire to end Sans, by any and all means possible.

It would happen. It had to happen. If Frisk had to die a thousand times, he would make it happen.

Frisk could almost see Chara's grin widen.  _"T_ _hat's the spirit!"_

Frisk swung the Knife, again. It missed, again. Sans attacked, again. It was the same thing as any of the turns before this. Nothing was new anymore. There was, at least, some relief when he got farther on a certain run and Sans had more to talk about. Frisk didn't really care about any anomaly, or for Sans's moral guilt-tripping, but to have anything new whatsoever in this slog of a battle was a treat Frisk relished. It wasn't fair that he had to remember every single death; Sans didn't. Sure, he knew it happened before, but each run's Sans didn't actually remember having to experience the same thing over and over again. 

Maybe that was Sans's plan. Bore Frisk so much he would rather sit in the void with Chara than come back to face a fight in which the only new and unique thing in all of them was how the pain would feel upon Frisk's seemingly-inevitable death. At least that was different every time.

One of the blasters caught Frisk at the end of the attack. Inconvenient. He didn't have time for this.

Twenty deaths. Ten attacks. Four items. No hits.

Frisk's mind was almost shutting down by that point. Nothing was being processed that was not concerned with his immediate survival. Sans's words went by him completely unnoticed, even though he hadn't heard them before.

Twenty deaths. Eleven attacks. Four items. No hits.

He just had to keep going. Had to heal. A wasted round, but there was no alternative.

Dodge the blasters. Attack.

Twenty deaths. Twelve attacks. Three items. No hits.

Frisk got ready to dodge whatever Sans was going to attack him with... but it never came. Instead, Sans was talking. He looked tired now; Frisk could see sweat starting to roll down Sans's skull.

" _How can a skeleton sweat, anyway?"_   Chara said. Frisk didn't know, and he didn't really care, either. He decided to listen to what Sans was saying, or at least what was left, and take some reprieve from the fight.

 

_"...there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? c'mon, buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening... let's forget all of this, ok? just lay down your weapon and... well, my job will be a lot easier."_

Frisk didn't have the slightest idea what he was talking about. Setting aside the nonsense of Frisk somehow knowing Sans previously, Frisk didn't want to be who he'd been before. Before the fall, before he met Chara, Frisk was powerless. This journey had taught him what it meant to  _mean_ something, what power felt like, and that doing the "right thing" was just people trying to get you to be less powerful than you could be.

 And even if he did still want to be nice, to help people, to be  _kind_ again...

He wanted Sans dead so, so much more.

Frisk swung the knife with all of his might. Sans dodged again, like he had dodged every other blow Frisk had aimed at him.

" _welp, it was worth a shot. guess you like doing things the hard way, huh?"_

* * *

**Death 35**

* * *

Surely Frisk would reach the end soon. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He still remembered every single death, as if it was only the last one.

He knew what noise each bone in his body made when it broke. He knew what being torn in half felt like. He knew what his last breath sounded like. He knew the color of his own heart, and it was every bit as red as his SOUL.

He knew how long a human could live when missing over 75% of their upper body.

The answer?

Not very long.

* * *

  **Death 50**

* * *

Frisk was barely able to function anymore. The attacks, the resets, Sans, the hall... nothing was registering anymore, it all just blended together into an unending ball of misery, pain, and eventual death, with no distinction.

His breaking point was close. It was very, very close. Sometimes he didn't even make it to attack 13 anymore.

This was one of those times. Frisk fell off one of the platforms, into the bone-filled floor. He barely even made an effort to make it out; all his items were gone, so if it wasn't this attack that kills him, it would be the next one.

Might as well get it over with already. If there was anything Frisk would never run out of, it was lives.

* * *

**Death 53**

* * *

"I'm going to do it."

The ghost-Chara looked startled. Maybe he didn't understand Frisk. Maybe it was just that this was the first time Frisk spoke to Chara since the fourth death. 

Chara asked, "You're going to do what?" 

"I'm going to spare Sans." Frisk said.

Frisk had never seen the expression Chara made before. It was... still smiling, technically, but it was the most hate-filled, malicious,  _angry_ smile Frisk had ever seen. He would have felt scared, but he knew that nothing was scarier than that...  _thing..._ in the hideous hall outside the void, waiting to slay him.

"And  **what** , exactly, brought on such a change of heart?" Chara almost spat out. "As I seem to recall, you wanted him dead not too many runs ago... are you chickening out?"

"I can't go on anymore. I give up! I'll spare him, I'll stop fighting, I'll do  _anything,_ just to make it stop!" Frisk was breaking down now. The runs, the deaths, the monotony... all of it was getting to him. He was going to reload, and spare Sans. Sans would stop fighting, and Frisk would reset. He didn't care that it was an unknown anymore. He just wanted to undo all of the pain he'd suffered. He'd do things differently, next time, if that was what it took to avoid all the deaths.

Chara's cruel, angry smile tightened. "That's why you'd give up? Because it  _hurts?_   What, are you going to go back and cry to Mommy? Well, guess the fuck what: Mommy doesn't help. Sometimes, Mom is  _why_ it hurts. But wait a minute, Frisk... didn't  _you_ hurt  _Mommy?_ What kind of person does that? Who kills someone they called their own mother in cold blood, just because she was in the way? I'll tell you who does that, Frisk: us. We're not good people, and you're a goddamn imbecile if you think that you could ever be one. We can't change who we've been. I couldn't. I tried my hardest; I tried to help, tried to care about people. Through doing that, I destroyed the only hopes of an entire race, split my family, and killed just about the only person I ever cared about. Oh, and died, can't forget that part!"

"So go ahead. Spare Sans. Go back to the beginning and be a wimp. But I'll always be in here, and I always remember, and I'm gonna make sure you do too _, Partner."_

Frisk had thought about admonishing Chara for swearing, but decided that it was probably a bad idea to interrupt him. Instead, he waited out Chara's threat and insult-laced tirade. Was what Chara said true? Probably. He hadn't been wrong before now, and what he'd said had helped Frisk become stronger. It had helped him seize his own destiny! It had helped Frisk become the deadliest and the most powerful being in the entire Underground.

It had also gotten him locked into a death battle with a cheater who would not die. 

Strength was overrated.

Frisk reached out and pressed the CONTINUE button. 

The world popped back into existance, again. Frisk actively tried to avoid looking at the hall; he hated the very sight of it. If he could've, he'd like to tear it down brick by brick and throw the bricks into the CORE. Brick by brick, the hall would be consumed and destroyed forever. But at least he would never have to see it ever again.

Sans appeared, as always. Honestly, even he looked bored by now.

" _let's just get to the point."_

_"here we go."_

Frisk was extra careful this run. He didn't think he could take another death. Once he was done with this whole business, he planned to make a concerted effort never to die again. The thought of being free from this godawful fight was invigorating. The attacks flew by after, and Frisk made it to the 13th attack with (almost) full health. Chara wasn't talking to him or giving him tips anymore, but Frisk didn't care now.

The second Sans was finished giving his offer of mercy, Frisk chose SPARE. He would do anything not to fight Sans anymore, anything not to die again in that despicable hall with its sickly yellow light.

 

 _"...you're sparing me? finally. buddy. pal. i know how hard it must be... to make that choice. to go back on everything you've worked up to. i want you to know... i won't let it go to waste. ... c'mere, pal."_  

Frisk hugged Sans in relief and happiness.

Frisk died screaming in hatred and rage.


	2. A Recess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads-up, this chapter is written from Chara's perspective.

It had been thirty minutes. Thirty minutes of utter silence in the void. Thirty minutes of Frisk just... sitting there, without moving, without speaking.

Chara hated waiting, especially unnecessary waiting. They had been doing  _so_ well, and then Frisk got it into his stupid little head that  _giving up_  would somehow work out for the better. And now Chara was stuck in a void watching what, save for the fact it was breathing, might as well have been a corpse. He still didn't understand why, though. Why did Frisk decide to betray him? Why did he make an attempt to back out of Chara's plans, even when it had gone perfectly? Why was this the second time he had to ask himself this question? Sure, the first time was Chara's fault, but this time he  _knew_ it hadn't been him. The plan had worked fine, until Frisk had screwed it up and turned _dove!_

Clearly, Chara's taste in partners was lacking. Perhaps he wasn't as good with reading people as he had thought; one incident is an anomaly, but two is the start of a pattern.

However, with any luck Sans' lesson would have taught Frisk some valuable information. Honestly, Chara would have done the same thing in Sans' position; if he wasn't so infuriatingly, deceptively good at fighting, Sans would have been a refreshing change to listen to. The only monster aside from Flowey who actually  _understood_ how the world worked! Chara had been a little proud that Flowey had finally taken what he'd said all those years ago to heart, but Sans had found the truth all on his own; he hadn't even died first.

Admittedly, that had been a step in the teaching process that Chara hadn't planned or wanted Asriel to undertake. He was supposed to become a being of incredible power, collect on a few debts Chara was owed, and lead monsters to a bright and prosperous future on the Surface! While he was at it, maybe he would build a couple statues of Chara, with shiny plaques that said things like "His death was our freedom!" or "Through his sacrifice we are saved!"

Alright, those were far too messianic for Chara's tastes. That was encroaching on Asriel's role; Chara was-

Getting off-topic, was what he was. This goddamn void! He was here with nothing but his memories and a _traitor_  committed to doing his best impression of a porcelain doll. He glared at Frisk. Frisk still wasn't moving; he just sat there, staring at the infinite emptiness with red, unblinking eyes...

But despite Chara's best attempts to think of something else, anything else, his mind just kept wandering back to the plan; all the ways it had gone wrong, all the ways it could've been planned better...

He should've taken more time to explain to Asriel how the plan was supposed to go, should've gotten him more prepared. He was sure that any person who was in Asriel's place would've done the same thing, because Chara hadn't done a good enough job. It wasn't Asriel's fault. It couldn't be. It _had_ to be Chara's fault.

But it _sure as hell_ wasn't his fault this time. 

Although, this could still be salvaged. Maybe Frisk would had learned something from all this! Even if he hadn't yet, there was still time. After all, for Frisk death wasn't the end of the story. Boy, wouldn't that power have been useful back then! Chara might not even be stuck in this situation if he'd been able to do that. But as useful as Frisk's apparent functional immortality was, it did jack shit for them both if he just kept sitting there.

He moved towards Frisk. No response. He waved his faintly-transparent hand in front of those dull red eyes. Still no response. Jeez, Chara thought, this kid was really out of it...  
Well, maybe talking would snap him back to reality.  
"Hey. You still here, chum?" Chara said.  
Absolutely nothing.  
"Alright, you don't need to talk to me. But would you please stop sitting there? We're wasting time."  
Zilch.  
Alright, this was really getting on Chara's nerves. "Look, buddy, I'm serious. Get up." he said, snapping in front of Frisk's face.

There was nothing; Frisk just kept on staring at that  _damnable_ void! He grabbed Frisk and started shaking him. "Frisk! Get the  _fuck up!"_  Chara yelled at him, "This isn't goddamn  _funny_ anymore! Is this because I yelled at you? Alright, fine, I'll take it back, just stop screwing around, stand up, and goddamn reset already!"

He... he didn't even respond to the swears? That had been Chara's trump card, the one thing he was  _sure_ would've gotten Frisk to do something was if he used swears. If he didn't react to that, then was there   
No no no, not  _now!_ He  _couldn't!_ The entire plan, everything, all they'd worked together for was going to be goddamn _ruined_ if Frisk didn't get up, didn't reload, didn't keep going on past Sans. And if the plan didn't... didn't reach its conclusion, didn't meet the goals, then that meant...  
  
That meant it had all been for  _nothing!_  They'd both hurt, lied, destroyed, "dusted", all for the sake of nothing! Chara was fine with all of that if the plan had succeeded, and he couldn't lie, he'd had some fun at parts but... to have done things like that and not get  _anything_ from it, let alone a result that would justify what they'd done...

An immense feeling of claustrophobia came over Chara. The vast infinity of the void was suddenly very small, and very heavy.

"F-Frisk... please." Chara's wavering voice sounded weak and scared. "Please, do something! You can't...  _we_ can't stop here. It's... I don't like it here, Frisk. We should go back, we've _got_ to go back, _please!_  You said you wanted to reset, to stop what you're doing; alright, that's o-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Frisk looked at him. Not the void, not his general direction, Frisk looked at  _him._ His eyes were no longer dull, but instead an angry and crimson red. Chara wasn't sure he liked them; they seemed at odds with the Frisk he'd come to know.

"You were right."

What the hell did did he mean by  _that?_ Chara had been just about to say that he'd been...

"I shouldn't have spared him. Mercy really is just a lie; none of them ever meant it, even if I did."  
Frisk's normally impassive face broke into a truly disturbing grin.  
"You were right. They need to die, all of them."

So he  _had_ been right! All the things they'd done, they were worth it after all! Chara laughed, inwardly; it was so _weak_ and _stupid_ of himself to have started thinking otherwise! Of course Frisk was going to come around to the right way of thinking, of course he would continue onwards; he was Determined, wasn't he?  
Yes, Chara could depend on Frisk. He'd done things right this time; the plan really was going to work!

"I knew you'd come around, partner!" Chara said, the smile wide on his face. "Now, if you wouldn't mind resetting...?"  
Frisk held up a hand in the air, seeming to press something Chara couldn't see. But then he drew his hand back, and looked at Chara. "Just a second, I've got an idea..." He thought for a second. "Yes... let's see if this works." 

"Wait, what are you tal-"

Before he could finish the sentence, Frisk grabbed Chara's arm and shoved it into the seemingly-empty place where he'd held his own up earlier.

His hand touched something invisible in the dark of the void; Frisk forced him to press it.

When he did, Chara felt something... odd.  
  
And then the

darkness

mel

te

d

.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, uh... it's pretty clearly been longer than 30 minutes on my end. I'm gonna try and do a better job updating this faster in the future.  
> The next chapter is going to be longer.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you thought it was good, and if you didn't, please tell me why in the comments so I can fix it for next time!


End file.
